Two Arrested After Investigation Turns Violent in Panora
Two men were arrested in Guthrie County Sunday after a suspicious vehicle call turned into a physical fight between a deputy and suspect.
“Deputy (Kent) Gries was just on his routine patrol, I think working his way toward his residence, when he noticed a vehicle he thought he should check out and it went downhill from there” says Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright
Deputy Gries was in the parking lot of the Casey’s General Story in Panora around 4am Sunday when he spotted the suspicious vehicle. While making contact with the two adult males in the car, the deputy suspected criminal activity was occurring and also saw a weapon in the vehicle.
While attempting to pat down Jessie Lynn Crawford of rural Jamaica, the suspect became violent began assaulting the deputy by striking him numerous times in the head and upper torso. The Sheriff’s office says the “intense physical struggle” ensued for a lengthy period of time both in the parking lot and in the yard of a business near Casey’s.
Deputy Gries was able to use both his primary and backup Tasers on Crawford, but the suspect was able to fight through the effects and continue resisting arrest, which Sheriff Marty Arganbright says is not normal.
“Anyone that carries a Taser has all been certified, as far as officers, so we’ve all been tased with it. So I know personally, when I was tased it would have been hard for me. You can’t even get up, so that’s not normal” says Arganbright.
Which he says could possibly be attributed to being under the influence, among other things.
“Yes, it’s possible there is some sort of influence there. Also you know the factor of not wanting to cooperate and being angry and depending on the situation, some people fight back.”
The deputy attempted to call for emergency assistance but was unable to reach Guthrie County dispatch. He was however able to hit the “panic button” on his portable radio and Panora EMS was called to the scene.
Eventually, a passing motorist witnessed the struggle and stopped to help assist in taking Crawford into custody. He was treated by on-scene by Panora EMS and later released. Deputy Gries also received treatment for physical exhaustion, scrapes and bruises.
During the arrest, Crawford was found to be in possession of approximately 44 grames of methamphetamine, which the Sheriff’s office says is the largest seizure quantity the department has seen in recent history.
Crawford was booked into the Guthrie County jail and faces felony charges of possession with intent to deliver more than give grams of methamphetamine and assault while participating in a felony. He’s also charged with interference with official acts with injury to a peace officer and assault with injury to a peace officer.
David Michael Cannon of Grand Junction, who Sheriff Arganbright said fortunately waited in the vehicle as the fight went on, is charged with possession of a dangerous weapon.
Both suspects are convicted felons in the state of Iowa, with Crawford having a record of theft, drug and weapon violations and assault with use or display of a weapon.
After being seen by Guthrie County magistrate Sunday, Cannon was released on his own recognizance, while Crawford is being held in the Guthrie County jail.
Sheriff Arganbright Applauds Motorist For Helping Deputy
Communication is often key when it comes to emergencies, so what happens when that fails and those who need help can’t reach assistance? As the Guthrie County Sheriff’s office found out this week, sometimes you have to rely on the help of a Good Samaritan.
When Deputy Kent Gries found himself in the middle of a one-on-one fight with a suspect he was trying to arrest early Sunday, he was without the help of his K-9 partner, his Taser didn’t subdue the man and he wasn’t able to call for backup. Sheriff Marty Arganbright says unfortunately, sometimes equipment just doesn’t work well in certain areas.
“Sometimes the portable radio is hard to get to dispatch, either you can’t hear it or it doesn’t perform like it should. Portables are notorious for that” says Arganbright.
While the Sheriff says this is concerning, it’s not surprising.
“I have repeaters in the vehicles to make it stronger. Sometimes when you’re on a portable, another county can walk over you so you can’t get it over across to dispatch. I think the bigger thing is, better than radios or anything like that is having backup in the area so, which at that time there wasn’t backup in the area.”
So when a passing motorist who saw the deputy struggling stopped to help, Sheriff Arganbright says it made all the difference.
“It changed the course of what might have happened but we’re more than grateful to say the least that he stopped and helped.”
The Sheriff says it’s not always a good idea for someone to get in the middle of an incident involving law enforcement and a potentially dangerous suspect. When it comes down to it, Arganbright says it’s up to the individual to decide if they think they can handle and what they are willing to take on.
Emergency Management Coordinator Says Storm Damage was Minor
Only wind damage to trees and power lines was the extent of the damage that was done in Guthrie County from Sunday night’s storm
Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf says the western and northern parts of the County saw severe wind damage to crops and trees along with heavy rainfall that ranged from three-hundredths of an inch to three inches throughout the County.
He points out that at no time were there any tornadoes, but he talks about the 80-90 miles-per-hour straight line winds doing just as much damage as a tornado could do.
“70-80 miles-per-hour straight line wind is the equivalent to an EF-0 tornado as far as wind strength. The only difference is its blowing down and out instead of rotating.”
Kempf states that larger tree limbs of around 12-inches in diameter were reported to have fallen in Bayard and Jamaica and smaller branches were found in Bagley, Yale, Panora and Guthrie Center. Jamaica was without power until 2am when Alliant Energy had all of its outages repaired.
He adds that Bayard and Bagley both set off their severe weather sirens because they policy dictates that when there’s high winds prevalent, their sirens will sound.
Kempf notes that he was extremely pleased with the emergency notification system and how well the storm spotters responded to making reports.
Portion of the Raccoon River Valley Trail Closed Due to Storm Damage
A one mile stretch of the Raccoon River Valley Trail in northern Guthrie County will be closed longer than initially expected after a bridge was damaged during the Sunday evening storms.
Guthrie County Conservation Director Joe Hanner says the majority of the trail is usable but they will need additional help to complete the bridge repairs.
“The loop is fully functional. Just north of the loop and north of Herndon we have a large bridge over Greenbrier Creek and a large, large cottonwood limb fell off during the storm event and crushed a good portion of the railings on the bridge” says Hanner.
Initially, Hanner hoped to have everything reopened by the end of the week but he’s having county engineer Josh Sebern inspect the bridge structure to see if it’s still safe and the railings need to be fully replaced before that can happen.
“It looks like it could be into next week before we get the bridge railings repaired and back open, at this time.”
Raccoon Valley Radio will continue to provide updates on the repairs and let you know once the trail is fully reopened.
Quiet Week for the Guthrie County Supervisors
The Guthrie County Board of Supervisors have had a light week in terms of action items on their bi-weekly agendas.
In fact, County Auditor Jerri Christman says both agendas have been open with no action items on them. She states that when this happens, the Supervisors still meet in case there is anyone from the public who wishes to address the Board about a concern during the open forum time.
Generally, Christman notes that summer is the slower time of year for action items and other agenda topics but that budget time at the beginning of the year is quite a bit more intense. However, this is the first time in a while that both meetings this week didn’t have anything on the agenda.
Christman adds that if someone wants to formally address the Board, they can be placed on the agenda at least 24-hours before the next meeting by calling her office at 641-747-3619.
The Supervisors meeting every Tuesday and Thursday at 9am at the Guthrie County Courthouse in Guthrie Center.